


like ash, like shadow

by fallenidol_453



Category: Dragonlance - Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
Genre: Based on the musical adaptation The Last Trial, Blind Character, Don't copy to another site, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Possessive Behavior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28141539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenidol_453/pseuds/fallenidol_453
Summary: What a pretty ornament Crysania would have made at the foot of Takhisis's throne, if she still had one. The blind maiden, sorrowful and untouchably beautiful, resting her head upon Takhisis's knee… she would have made an ideal replacement for Raistlin.
Relationships: Crysania/Takhisis (Dragonlance)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	like ash, like shadow

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the Dragonlance universe, much less the rights to the musical based upon it (последнее испытание/The Last Trial). Any mistakes to canon are mine.
> 
> Edit, December 21, 2020: changed some of the dialogue where Takhisis torments Crysania; I used both Raistlin's wooing from "Seduction" and Takhisis's lyrics from the opening of "Absurd Cruelty", where she speaks to Crysania.

It was a pity Takhisis no longer had a physical form since Raistlin defeated her. There was only so much she could do when tormenting him about his failures and folly. And the constant back and forth arguing about how he could fix things could be… tiring. It was the same plea, again and again, just with different attitudes. One moment he was determined, another day he was desperate or despairing.

It was time to torment a new target.

&

The Abyss is dark in ways no mortal can describe in mere words. Takhisis stalked the cavernous landscape with ease, the still air a refreshing change from the ash and smoke of the destroyed mortal realm.

She sees Crysania long before coming up to her. The maiden is still curled into a ball in the deepest shadows of the Abyss, paralyzed with despair. She is a faint pure light in the darkness, as distant and pale as the moon.

And she believes herself to be all alone…

Takhisis approaches closer, unseen and unheard.

How badly would Crysania be startled if Takhisis could touch her? How loud would she gasp? She couldn't trust her eyes anymore - what imaginations would her mind conjure after the contact?

There's a soft noise. Crysania had uttered a name, too low to hear. Had it been Raistlin's? Did she still yearn for him despite being abandoned and cast aside? Takhisis gathers what little divine aura she has left and projects Raistlin's voice faintly into the shadows.

_"Think of me… think only of me…"_

The projection is a poor imitation of the real man's voice, but the honeyed words and gentle tone made Crysania raise her proud head and feebly reach out in front of her.

"Don't leave me… Raistlin!"

Takhisis does not respond back. She watches Crysania's hand shake with exertion, then fall down. Her head falls forward, her black hair hiding her new tears.

It would be a perverse pleasure for Takhisis to wipe those tears away, just to feel Crysania's soft moon-pale skin once more. To feel the smooth strands of her midnight hair between her fingers. She would savor every inch of grief upon that beautiful face.

When Crysania's cries have stopped, Takhisis projects Raistlin's voice again, a soft romantic crooning in the darkness.

_"You are as cold as steel... as beautiful as ice..."_

"No!" Crysania exclaimed weakly.

Takhisis switches to her own voice this time.

_"A simple child led on the leash of evil…"_

"Stop…!"

Crysania is too exhausted to do more than curl up onto the ground again, trembling. What a pretty ornament she would have made at the foot of Takhisis's throne, if she still had one. The blind maiden, sorrowful and untouchably beautiful, resting her head upon Takhisis's knee… she would have made an ideal replacement for Raistlin.

What else could Takhisis take away from Crysania, besides her sight? Her faith had been tarnished enough during her journey with Raistlin to the Abyss. Her voice was a possibility; Takhisis had had fun borrowing it to taunt Raistlin during his trials. Hearing Crysania struggle to call for him after they'd been separated, trying to warn him of the dangers he faced… it had been pure poetry. 

But the end result may not be desirable. Borrowing Crysania's voice had been a basic use of Takhisis's divine aura, but if she took it away like the girl's eyesight, it would be gone forever.

But… ah, instead of taking anything else away, it would be so easy to give Crysania what she wanted, and push her into the void. How far would she plunge into the darkness? Would it consume her light utterly, or would she still shine as faint as a single star in the night sky?

… no, Takhisis would not give in to the temptation. It was more amusing to leave Crysania where she was, so Takhisis could keep her light close for as long as she wanted.

**Author's Note:**

> For the line about Raistlin's "different attitudes", I went with my first impression of the three actors I've watched play him on video during Властелин Ничего/"Lord of Nothing": determination (Evgeny Egorov), desperation (Ruslan Gerasimenko), and finally despair (Andrey Birin).
> 
> ... and for the line about Takhisis "borrowing" Crysania's voice, that was inspired by my own interpretation of Изида под покрывалом/"Veiled Isis".


End file.
